Gen 32:24-31 Jacob was left alone, and a man came and wrestled with him. The man fought with him until the sun came up. (25) When the man saw that he could not defeat Jacob, he touched Jacob's leg and put it out of joint. (26) Then the man said to Jacob, "Let me go. The sun is coming up." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go. You must bless me." (27) And the man said to him, "What is your name?" And Jacob said, "My name is Jacob." (28) Then the man said, "Your name will not be Jacob. Your name will now be Israel. I give you this name because you have fought with God and with men, and you have won." (29) Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But the man said, "Why do you ask my name?" Then the man blessed Jacob at that place. (30) So Jacob named that place Peniel. He said, "At this place, I saw God face to face, but my life was spared." (31) Then the sun came up as Jacob left Peniel. He was limping because of his leg.
There comes a time in all of our lives when we face making a choice of following God's will or doing what we want to do. When we stop wrestling with God and Do as he wants us to do God will bless us. sometime we may struggle and those struggles will leave an everlasting mark on our life just as was with Jacob's leg. Sometimes I find myself thinking that my way would be easier than God's way. But I always discover that God had a purpose for making me do things his way. The hardships I endure Allow me to testify in a way that will touch someone that I may not have touched if I had not done things God's way. We have to stop wrestling with God to receive the blessing god has for us. We can never let go of God.
I often wonder if church goiers understand the work a ministor does. Its not an easy path that God puts before you. In most cases you are a father and a husband also. Lets start with the basics first you have 3 or 4 sermons to preach a week for each of those you my spend 6-10 house studing, praying and writing to prepare for each of those sermons only for God to sometimes change the message he wants you to deliver the day before. Next there is the home bible studies, couples counciling, Hospital visitions and providing support for those with lost love one. This I think may be the hardest things to do the people you are visiting or that have passed away may have been a member of your flock, someone who was part of your family and it can be as hard on you as it is on there family. You have to be strong and control your emotions until you have time alone to greve. Sometime it may all become overwelming. You just want to say to God "If this isnt really what you want me doing Im ok with working at Mc Donalds" God answer is always " Im not done with you yet, there will be pleanty of time for rest when you joing me in Haven" . To be a pastor or ministor you have to have an all powering will to do Gods work because there is no time when you are not working. You dont get to take a day off. You can go on vacation and expect to not do Gods work. You can't go somewhere and someone say "Are you Pastor Paul?" and you reply " not today I am off call me tomorrow when I am working"
But along with the job does come the pride and honor of being able to say "Yes I am God's faithfull servent I would be so greatly honored that you have asked my to tell you about him". Yet het to help people find there place in God's service. You get to witness Micrales that God preforms through you and other. You get to share the love of god with others. In Job 1:8 ERV Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him. He is a good, faithful man. He respects God and refuses to do evil." There is no other feeiling than to know God is saying the same about you as he did Job. So to my brother, My cousin and all those who are doing the work of god. Thank you and may God forever hold you in his arms and bless you.
Today I read the book of Job today. I read about the suffering he went through. It started with him losing his wealth, then his crops and his herds of animals that he owned. I thought how would I feel if I lost everything I owned. how would that make me feel. would I have the faith in God to not turn away from him? What would do? Then Job lost his children. A wind came along and blew down the house they all were in and killed them all. Still Job did not turn away from God he stayed true to God. sit and think of the pain he felt losing all his children. What would you do? Would you blame Gad? Well the story continues next Job got sick. He became an outcast people thought "What has Job done to anger god?" His friends came to him and said " You have to repent for the evil you have done and pray for got to forgive you" Still Job remained faithful to God he told them that he wished he had never been born and that he has done nothing to bring God's anger upon myself.
What would you do? Could you remain faithful to go through if you lost everything and your friend turned against you? I asked myself the same questions. Could I say "My life is not my own it belongs to God I am not wise enough to know God's plan. Even through the times of hardship I may face in life I will continue to be a servant of God and do his will" Well Job did and the Lord spoke to him and told him you have been faithful to me and I will bless you with more than you ever had. He told Job's friends that they must pay a tribute to job for the wrongs they said against him. Although sometimes we feel the whole world is against us we must remember that God is with us.
Today I am going to talk about Giving to God through Tithes and Offering. How it can effect you and effect the church. I will try to overcome some obstacles that we all have to giving that we all may have or that we all may face.Our Bible verse today comes from 2Co 9:7-8 ESV Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (8) And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
Why do you give to the church or others?
Or
Why don't you Give?
I know we all have intent to give our Tithes to the church at the 10% we have been taught but sometimes we fall short of that amount. Sometime that is out of fear. We think if I give 10% I won't have money for gas at the end of the week. Sometimes we don’t give out of greed. We say “If I give 10% I won't be able to get that new something I want.
Mal 3:8-10 ERV "People should not steal things from God, but you stole things from me. "You say, 'What did we steal from you?' "You should have given me one-tenth of your things. You should have given me special gifts. (9) In this way your whole nation has stolen things from me, so bad things are happening to you." (10) The LORD All-Powerful says, "Try this test. Bring one-tenth of your things to me. Put them in the treasury. Bring food to my house. Test me! If you do these things, I will surely bless you. Good things will come to you like rain falling from the sky. You will have more than enough of everything.
God was speaking to the people of Israel. He said “Test me” If you give 10% Like I ask you will be blessed. We must have faith that God knows the problems we face and would not let us suffer by giving to the church. God does not want us to give because we feel we must give or we are not a good Christian or because the pastor is making you feel every time he talks about how the church needs your tithes and offerings.Each of us must decide in our hearts how much we give. We must be cheerful givers. God does not want us going home worried about if you gave too much, or if you are going to be able to pay a bill.
I know there are times in our life where we find that we feel that we cannot give without putting extreme hardship on our family. So what do we do during these times. We should go to our Pastor explain what is going on in your life and seek his guidance and through fasting and prayer God will provide an answer.
We are all human and all are not perfect we should look at not paying tithes like not paying a bill. We do not just ignore the fact that we don’t have the money to pay our mortgage. We call the bank and try to make arrangements to make it up. The church does plan its budget according to how much they receive in tithing.
We should keep this in mind when there are changes to our income that effects how much we are able to give for tithing whether it is an increase or decrease.
I wrote this some time ago just thought I would share this again
At some point in your life it all comes to a crashing halt. You
realize you can’t do it on your own. No matter how much others try
they can’t help you either and the more you let them try the more
you hurt them. Nothing you do will fill the emptiness you feel inside
you. This in when people turn to things of the world to try to hide
the pain they feel and the pain they are causing the ones they love.
Drugs, alcohol, porn, money, partying, or maybe you'll try just being
a good person with shallow jesters of kindness and helping others but
not because it’s the right thing to do but because you want other
to look at you and say “look he's a good person, he must be really
happy” but none of it will make the pain go away. Sure you may fool
some people in to believing the face you wear on the outside and you
may even fool yourself for a while as you start to wear blinders to
the real world around you. Then one day you wake up and it’s all
gone not only the fake stuff but the real stuff too. Maybe it’s in
that moment that you think “life is not worth living and you just
want to end it all, you want the pain to stop” you’re looking for
someone to help you but your also looking for someone to blame for
your loss, your pain and your suffering. So often we begin to blame
God for what we are going through we say “God why have you done
this to me I've been a good person I don’t deserve this” I
sometimes here God saying to me “ Really?”, “ You denied me to
others, and yet I still came to you with open arms, remember all the
times you pushed away your family and I brought them back to you, I
have always been here for you and I always will be just believe in me
and trust in me” It’s in that time of darkness that God sent an
angel to lift me up and tell me it would be OK. Its then that God
said let go of your pain and anger; let me fill your heart with love
and joy. “But God I don’t know if I have the strength to do as
you ask”, I replied. “You still don’t understand and you still
don’t believe” he said. “Faith is so hard for me, I want to
have faith and believe but I don’t know how.” I said. “Open
your eyes and heart and I will show you I am God.” he said. There
is a difference between taking something on faith and knowing that it
is so. When God began to show himself to be, I didn’t become a
faithful Christian I became a knowing follower of God. The journey I
now take with God is not an easy one, it’s not always a one moving
forward I sometime slip and fall and have the ways of my past start
to drag me back but now I know God is with me and he is a loving and
forgiving God and will be there to help me back onto the proper trail
should I become lost.
Good
evening and welcome. Tonight I will talk about accepting Jesus but
first let us open in prayer.
Lord
Jesus please give us the wisdom and understanding
to receive the message you have for us so we may grow in the
knowledge and share that knowledge with others
-
Amen
There
is a path to everlasting life set before us. The first step to
following that path is the hardest. You must accept Jesus Christ as
your Lord and Savior. I know some of you may say that's easy well its
not. Well its not that easy for over come the ways you may have been
taught or to over come the suffering and pain you may be in. Maybe
its the negativity that others have directed at you. Sometimes other
people may judge you based on the way you look, an addiction you may
have, or the lifestyle you live. And you must be prepared for the
things people you knew before you found Christ may say. Sometimes we
judge ourselves and think we are unworthy of Gods grace. No were in
the Bible does God exclude
any from the gift of Jesus Christ.
Joh
3:16-17 KJVFor
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.(17)For God sent not his Son into the world
to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
God
said all the world not just those of us that fit into the mold of
what some people believe would make a good christian. There are many
obstacles and types of negativity that we must overcome. When I think
about the struggles we must face as Christians the song that come to
mind is by dc Talk Jesus Freak
I
saw a man with tat on his big fat belly It
wiggled around like marmalade jelly It
took me a while to catch what it said Cause
I had to match the rhythm of his belly with my head 'Jesus
Saves' is what it raved in a typical tattoo green He
stood on a box in the middle of the city And
claimed he had a dream
What
will people think When
they hear that I'm a Jesus freak What
will people do when they find that it's true I
don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak There
ain't no disguising the truth [There
ain't no disguising the truth] [I
don't need to hide it... The truth]
We
must each find our own way to push past them and not let them take
what is rightfully ours away from us and that is the love of Jesus
Christ. We must pray; Jesus I accept
that you have died for my sins and that you are my lord and savior, please forgive me of my sins and Prepare me for walking a path
without sin as best I can. Amen
1Pe
3:13-15 ERV If you are always trying to
do good, no one can really harm you. (14)
But you may suffer for doing right. If that happens, you have God's
blessing. "Don't be afraid of the people who make you suffer;
don't be worried." (15)
But keep the Lord Christ holy in your hearts. Always be ready to
answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have.
I
faced allot of hardships in my life and have had to learn to not here
what people said to me. I was once told by a woman that I was not
christian enough for us to go out because of the things I did in my
past. I told her it is my past experiences that make me a better
christian. Because of the dark path I walked before coming to Christ
I am able to look at people and say if Jesus will take me he will
take anyone. I can testify that I walked that I thought I would never
be able to do what I am doing now. I thought Jesus would never take
me back because for so long I rejected him.
The
final part of receiving salvation is Baptism. Baptism is defined as a
ceremonial immersion in water, or application of water, as an
initiatory rite or sacrament of the Christian church. In the days of
John the Baptist, he baptized people through the immersion in water.
Mar
1:4-5 ERV So John the Baptizer came and
was baptizing people in the desert area. He told them to be baptized
to show that they wanted to change their lives, and then their sins
would be forgiven. (5)
All the people from Judea, including everyone from Jerusalem, came
out to John. They confessed the bad things they had done, and he
baptized them in the Jordan River.
Baptism
is outward showing of the washing away of your sins. When you come
out of the water your begin a new life walking the path that Jesus
Christ has set before you, turning away from a life of sin. How
important is it to be baptized Jesus said
Mar
16:16-18 ERV Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.
But those who do not believe will be judged guilty. (17) And
the people who believe will be able to do these things as proof: They
will use my name to force demons out of people. They will speak in
languages they never learned. (18) If they pick up snakes
or drink any poison, they will not be hurt. They will lay their hands
on sick people, and they will get well."
Jesus
Christ sought out John the Baptist so that he could be baptized not
to wash away his sins but because it was God's will
Mat
3:13-16 ERV Then Jesus came from
Galilee to the Jordan River. He came to John, wanting John to baptize
him. (14)
But John tried to stop him. John said, "Why do you come to me to
be baptized? I should be baptized by you!" (15)
Jesus answered, "Let it be this way for now. We should do
whatever God says is right." Then John agreed. (16)
So Jesus was baptized. As soon as he came up out of the water, the
sky opened, and he saw God's Spirit coming down on him like a dove.
We
cannot stop there and say I can go back to my sinful ways. We must do
our best to follow the path of Love and goodness that was set before
us by Jesus.
I
have one final thought that I dont have the answer for. If one turns
away from God when he come back should he be baptized again?
The next step is repentance.Why do we have to repent? the Bible in Rom 3:23-27 ERV
All have sinned and are not good enough to share God's divine greatness. (24) They are made right with God by his grace. This is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ. (25) God gave Jesus as a way to forgive people's sins through their faith in him. God can forgive them because the blood sacrifice of Jesus pays for their sins. God gave Jesus to show that he always does what is right and fair. He was right in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins. And in our own time he still does what is right. God worked all this out in a way that allows him to judge people fairly and still make right any person who has faith in Jesus. (27) So do we have any reason to boast about ourselves? No reason at all. And why not? Because we are depending on the way of faith, not on what we have done in following the law.
Throughout our lives we have all done wrong. We are all born with the ability to do Good and the temptation to do bad (sin). This is how we work and we cant change those facts. Sin is doing stuff that you know is wrong. It can be any type of sin from telling a little white lie, having bad thoughts about a person, carrying a grudge, to robbing a bank or killing someone. Repentance is admitting that you know you have sinned in your life and ask for forgiveness. You must not just say the words. You must believe in your soul in Jesus and the fact that he died for your sins and want him to forgive you for your sins. Repentance does not stop there you must do your best to turn your life away from sin.
There
is only one path to righteousness and it has 3 steps. The first step
is the hardest you must except Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Its not easy to over come the ways you may have been taught or to
over come the suffering and pain you may be in. Maybe its the
negativity that others have directed at you. Sometimes other people
may judge you based on the way you look, an addiction you may have,
or the lifestyle you live. No were in the Bible does God preclude any
from the gift of Jesus Christ.
Joh
3:16-17 KJVFor
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.(17)For God sent not his Son into the world
to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
God
said all the world not just those of us that fit into the mold of
what some people believe would make a good christian. There are many
obstacles and types of negativity that we must overcome. We must each
find our own way to push past them and not let them take what is
rightfully your away from you and that is the love of Jesus Christ. I
was taught at a young age that Jesus loves us all in a simple
children's song
Jesusloves the
little children All
the children of the world Black and yellow, red
and white They're
all precious in His sight Jesus loves the
little children of the world
Whether you're rich or
whether you're poor It matters not to Him He remembers where
you're going Not where you've been
Jesus loves the
little children All the children of the world Black and
yellow, red and white They're all precious in His
sight Jesus loves the little children of the
world
If your heart is
troubled Don't worry, don't you fret He knows that you have
heard His call And he won't forget
Jesus loves the
little children All the children of the world Black and
yellow, red and white They're all precious in His
sight Jesus loves the little children of the
world
All around the world tonight His children rest
assured That He will watch and He will keep us Safe and
secure
Jesus loves the little children All
the children of the world Black and yellow, red and
white They're all precious in His sight Jesus loves the
little children of the world
The
song has been around sense the 1800's and it sometimes seems that so
many have forgotten that word and that we all are God's children.
I was in a local walmart today when a woman was with her child and the child was having a fit and sitting on the ground and refusing to get up the woman proceeded to grab the child hand and began to walk. So picture this a woman holding a small baby walking as the boy on the ground slid on his but The woman in front of me says "That's Child abuse" I turned and looked at the woman as if she was crazy and say "no its not" It was at this time I wanted to start preaching to the woman. The woman pulling the child was establishing a limit to the child as to what was acceptable behavior. She was also was showing the child who was in charge. We as parents have to set limits and teach our children right from wrong, even if it means pulling our child along when they don't want to go. Sometimes we as Christians act as the child on the floor we think that we know better than god as to where we should go or what we should do. Sometimes God has to reach down and grab our hand and drag us across the floor on our butts to get us back on the right path. Just as the woman did not want to drag her child god does not want to drag us.
Today I continue my series on judgement. Im going to cover allot of ground today As I wrap up the series today.
Joh 8:1-11 KJV Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. (2) And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. (3) And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, (4) They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. (5) Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? (6) This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. (7) So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. (8) And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. (9) And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. (10) When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? (11) She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
I look around the world and notice that too many Christians are picking up that stone and throwing it in the name of Christ who clearly would not throw it. Prejudice in any form is judgement and judgement is a sin. Do you bare ill will to another person because of the race they may be, the church they attend, there age (whether it be young or old), the country they come form or how they came to be in your country or there sexual orientation? Have you ever looked at someone and said that person is a sinner? Think about this;
Rom 3:23 KJV For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; We are all born with sin and through Faith in Jesus and repentance we are forgiving of our sins. From that Day Forward we should work to share the love of Jesus. We will never rise above the evil in today's world by sharing a word of prejudiceness and condemnation of sinners. We must share and practice the ways of Love, Hope and Forgiveness. For god so love the world that he gave his only Son so that we would not perish but have every lasting life. He did this without exception.
Judgement is a hard thing to give up and so often is a deep rooted part of Prejudice. Today I am going to start with Educational Prejudice. Is it better to have a pastor that has gone to Seminary School or one who is mentored by another pastor? While I do believe that Training of some sort is important to a new pastor the type of training is put forth by god. In some settings Pastors that go to Seminary school are looked down upon they are judged to have too little real world experiences to be a good minister. The opposite is judged by those who are pastors who have never gone to Seminary School. The person does not have the knowledge of the bible that come through seminary schools give. This can pass out of christian setting and applied to people who look at a person doing a job who has not gone to school to learn his trade, Saying "he doesn't know what he is doing he didn't go to school for it" or " She just got out of school she doesn't know how things work in the real world" We should never judge a person based on what we might think they know Rather we should look at the quality of their work.
If you were to look at my Education you will find out that I Dropped out of high school, didn't finish Collage and have never attended Seminary School. If you were to base your choice as to whether or not I am a good minister on them facts you would likely come to the wrong choice. But when you look at my life as a whole you will find out that my father was a pastor and he shaped my life to become a minister someday. My first ministry was a prison out reach with my father. There I learned not to judge people for the place life has let them to be. That sometimes we all mess up and life and its how we handle that mistake in life that shapes who we are. In many groups in my life I have served as a chaplain. I am filled with the Holy Ghost and each day in my life god shows me what he needs me to do and I follow that instruction. Don't judge other based on a few facts you know learn the whole story and except them for what they are. God has a plan for every person, and its my not be what you think it may be.
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